From: John Murtari (jmurtari@akidsright.org)
Date: Tue Nov 25 2008 - 15:09:36 EST
All the information in our messages is FREE for reuse as you desire. Subscribe/unsubscribe info at end. ========================================= Good People & People of Faith, This message contains info on: 1. Murtari update & newspaper coverage 2. After jail plans -- what a mess! 1. Murtari update & newspaper coverage -------------------------------------- On Friday John was moved to the medical area of the jail. Later that day he was taken to a hospital for IV fluids. He told the hospital personnel that he didn't have a problem accepting food or water from them. He ate 3 tuna sandwiches, some fig newtons and drank a lot of water. They returned him to the jail the same day. John had a visit with the warden, Chief Barry Virts. He isn't happy. He's been getting lots of telephone calls about John. (John says, PLEASE KEEP IT UP!) He mentioned the possibility of shipping John off to another jail. One with a bigger medical facility so he would stay behind bars instead of going to a hospital. John is going to propose that he serve his time on weekends only. He should only get sentenced to about 2 weeks anyway, and he's already been there a week. John has been trying for awhile to get a provisional drivers license so he can drive legally. He lives in such a rural area that driving is a necessity. John says THANK YOU for your calls on his behalf. He just received word that the Wayne County Public Defender will be trying to get his Court date moved to Dec. 3rd. A newspaper article was published today in the Finger Lakes Times (Regional Paper -- http://fltimes.com/articles/2008/11/25/news/doc492c2258b585d003486248.txt 2. After jail plans -- what a mess! ----------------------------------- The jail ran a blood test late Friday (21st) and they didn't like the kidney levels. They brought me to the hospital in Newark, only a few miles from the jail. I was to get an IV and be rehydrated. I was concerned about that since it would be fluids, but no nourishment and my body would just consume itself. I told the ER doctor I'd accept the IV and also eat anything they could give me since it was the hospital. I must have drank over a gallon of water and also ate three small tuna fish sandwiches and a small pack of fig newtons. The next day my head spinned with questions. What were they going to do? I would not eat and drank only very little water in the jail. Would we repeat this cycle every 5-6 days? I didn't think that would be good for me -- and a few sandwiches is not a week of food. What a mess! My head really started to spin when I thought about hopefully getting out of here on Dec. 17th. My son, Domenic (15), will be coming for Christmas Vacation on the 20th. What type of Christmas would it be when Dad can't drive because the police are "looking" for him. We have a good excuse not to visit the relatives! For the last several years Dom and I have also brought food to the Oxford Inn homeless shelter in Syracuse. We do it at Christmas, Easter, break, and in the summer. We make about 90 ham & cheese sandwiches and also bring fruit and orange juice. We won't be doing that either! Groceries shouldn't be too big a problem. Lyons is a small town, about 5000, and we live on the edge. But it has a decent supermarket, about a 10 minute walk -- still not a lot of fun in the winter. You don't want those bags to break while you're walking back! Probably the biggest thing is the embarrassment. Having to walk two times to the store past neighbors, when it could have been one quick car trip. I'll be getting good exercise! Also a chance to learn humility. What about the stuff you have to drive for? That's going to be a little tricky. I usually turn to an elderly cousin who lives in town and a good friend from High School. They've been very supportive to what Dom & I have gone through. But this is not their battle. I only go to them for emergencies. The problems I face are a consequence of my decisions. I knew years ago when I first "resisted" the system that I could lose everything. It now appears that bill may be coming due! Cause for depression & despair? You bet! As you hear my brief complaint, I know so many of you mothers & fathers have been through a lot worse struggles -- mine looks like a cake walk! I was talking to one of the Guards and he summed up I was in "a heap of trouble." But you know what, I told him it was all worth it and an easy trade! I know so so many of your stories. The worst of all is not to have your children around you for the holidays -- especially Thanksgiving & Christmas. And the worst of those, at the coldest level of Dante's Hell, are those moms and dads that have (adult) children who despise you. What a terrible tragedy. I am so fortunate that Dom and I have remained very close through it all. Easy to be depressed? You bet! A time perhaps to rediscover a loving God and to cry to him for help and to be inspired to new hope and action. I'm still reminding myself of that here! Still afraid of what the future could bring. I cry for the faith and wisdom to see it through. Are children alienated forever? I don't believe that for a second. Do I believe parents & children give up on each other because it hurts too much to keep trying? Yes. You can't control how someone feels. But I hope (and it's easy for me to say) that any alienated parent would keep trying to call, write, and send the holiday gifts to their kids. Don't let them forget you are there and that the door is open. Never let that little fire of faith & hope burn out! And if you have stopped, there is nothing wrong with starting again. There is an old Roman saying, "Hope springs eternal!" Again, thanks for all your efforts to help me. It is a good model of how NonViolent Action can work: A small group of people that can make sacrifices. A larger group providing support to those people and using their efforts to call public attention to injustice & indignity. History has proven this can be a winning combination. No name calling or anger required. For background information please visit http://www.AKidsRight.Org/support/traffic_jm.htm. Best regards! John Here are the phone numbers of the local officials: * DA Richard Healey , Hall of Justice, Suite 202, Lyons, NY 14489 (Phone: 315-946-5905 / Fax: 315-946-5911) * Mr. Richard Wunder, Ass. District Attorney, 54 Broad St. Lyons, NY 14489 (Phone: 315-946-5905 / Fax: 315-946-5911) * New York State Assemblyman Robert Oaks, 10 Leach Road, Lyons, NY 14489 (Phone: 315-946-5166 / Fax: 315-946-5229) * Judge Nicholas Forgione, 79 William St., Lyons, NY 14489 (Phone: 315-946-1204) ======================================= http://www.AKidsRight.Org/ A Kid's Right to Both Parents! ------ Newsletter mailing list Newsletter@kids-right.org subscribe/unsubscribe info below: http://kids-right.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sun Jan 11 2009 - 03:12:24 EST